1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stereoscopic-image display apparatus and method which allows a user to see a stereoscopic image by displaying an image for the left eye to the left eye of the user and displaying an image for the right eye to the right eye of the user, and to a storage medium storing such a method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of stereoscopic display apparatuses which allow a user to see a stereoscopic image by displaying an image for the left eye to the left eye of the user and displaying an image for the right eye to the right eye of the user have been proposed. For example, in a polarizing-spectacle type, left and right images are displayed using plane-polarized light beams whose wave surfaces are polarized in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction, respectively, or vice versa, and the user can see a stereoscopic image by wearing polarizing spectacles.
In a liquid-crystal-shutter-spectacle type, left and right images are displayed by being switched with a frequency of at least 90 Hz, more preferably, 120–150 Hz, and the user can see a stereoscopic image by wearing liquid-crystal-shutter spectacles. In a lenticular-lens type, a lenticular lens is attached on a picture surface, and a stereoscopic image is provided by deflecting optical paths so that one of two adjacent points is seen only by the left eye and the other point is seen only by the right eye. There is also a parallax-barrier type, in which fine slits are attached on a picture surface, and a stereoscopic image is provided by arranging so that one of two adjacent points is seen only by the left eye and the other point is seen only by the right eye.
In an HMD (head mounted display) type, a stereoscopic image is provided by displaying an image for the left eye on the left display surface of an HMD and displaying an image for the right eye on the right display surface of the HMD.
However, in the above-described conventional stereoscopic-image display apparatuses, in order to display a stereoscopic image by reading two image files corresponding to a pair of left and right stereoscopic images from a storage device, the user must input a file name of each of the two image files (i.e., the user must input file names twice), thereby requiring time and trouble for inputting the file names.
In order to display a plurality of stereoscopic images, the user must assign pairs of left and right stereoscopic images corresponding to the number of stereoscopic images, thereby requiring an increased burden for the user.